ABSTRACT
All the trends of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories are conducive to “young” age structures. According to official sources, mortality is poorly recorded. Under-registration is believed to be particularly high for infants and children. Recorded infant mortality rates are less than 30 per thousand in the West Bank and less than 40 per thousand in the Gaza Strip. By the end of 1985 the Palestinian population of the occupied territories reached 1,339,000 inhabitants, 813,000 in the West Bank, and 525,000 in the Gaza Strip. Based on the growth rates of 1984–1985, the total population figures for the end of 1986 have reached 1,377,000. Annual population increase in 1984–1986 has been slightly less than 3 percent in the West Bank and slightly more than 3 percent in the Gaza Strip. This rate of increase, one of the highest attained during Israeli occupation, stems from the same demographic trends detected since 1983.
